A driver who was shot and killed early yesterday by a Westerville police officer was holding a
gun as the officer approached his car during a traffic stop, police said.

The driver, identified as John W. Montgomery, 59, died at 2:03 a.m. in Mount Carmel St. Ann’s
hospital. Police provided no address for Montgomery, though records show him recently living on the
East Side of Columbus and that he had served a lengthy prison term.

State records show that Montgomery served 18 years for voluntary manslaughter and drug crimes.
He was released in 2000. Details of those offenses weren’t available late last night.

The shooting was the first for Westerville police, Chief Joe Morbitzer said. The Westerville
Division of Police is 98 years old.

“We’ve had officers shot at, but we’ve not had an officer shoot at anyone.”

The officer and a woman in the front passenger seat of Montgomery’s car were not hurt.

The officer’s name was not released yesterday, but he is a six-year veteran of the Westerville
department. Morbitzer described him as a “seasoned” officer who has about 12 years of police
experience.

The woman’s relationship to Montgomery was unclear. She was interviewed and released.

The shooting is being investigated by a team of Columbus police homicide detectives who handle
officer-involved shootings because it occurred just over the Westerville line in Columbus, said
Sgt. Rich Weiner, a Columbus police spokesman.

The Westerville officer stopped Montgomery at 1:16 a.m. in the westbound lanes of Polaris
Parkway near Olde Worthington Road for what police described as an equipment violation.

An “officer-in-trouble” call was aired by radio to area police agencies shortly after that,
along with a call for medics to respond to a shooting.

Morbitzer said the stop began routinely as the officer got out of his cruiser and approached
Montgomery’s car on the passenger’s side.

“It went south when he approached the car,” Morbitzer said. “I know he saw the weapon pretty
early.”

Many details were not available yesterday, but police said the shooting occurred within seconds.
A Westerville police news release said Montgomery “did not comply with the officer’s orders and was
holding a handgun.”

The officer’s cruiser had a working dash camera, and the footage is being reviewed, Morbitzer
said.

Weiner said Montgomery tried to get out of his car at some point during the incident, but it is
not yet clear precisely when.

“He fell next to the car,” he said.

The gun found with Montgomery was loaded.

Franklin County Coroner Jan Gorniak said an autopsy on Montgomery’s body could be conducted
today. The officer has been placed on paid administrative leave.

“Nobody likes to be in a situation like this, but again, when you’re confronted with a deadly
force situation, our concept is we go home at night,” Morbitzer said. Police work, he said, “can go
from zero to a hundred in a blink of an eye.”